President Uhuru Kenyatta pledges Sh92m for AU court, insists Deputy President William Ruto is innocent

President Uhuru Kenyatta last evening expressed confidence that an African Court of Justice would soon be a reality and that Deputy President William Ruto’s case at the International Criminal Court will come to an end.

“I am very grateful for the position that Africa has taken on this issue and we hope that those concerned will listen and clearly understand that not only is the Deputy President innocent, but the evidence against him is collapsing,” said the President.

During a brief chat with Kenyan journalists as he left the plenary hall during of the 24th African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the President added: “We have taken a very strong position on the need for us to be able to establish an African court so that as Africans, we will be taking responsibility for our own actions.” He told journalists that Kenya will continue to battle the issue and ensure justice is done, not just for the victims, but also for the suspects because the country wants a situation where fairness prevails.

“We know he is innocent. We believe he is innocent and we ask our African brothers and sisters to continue supporting this battle as we go forward,” said President Uhuru. He asked for the continued support of the African Union as Kenya received support for the ratification of the African Court from AU chairman President Robert Mugabe. In his official address, the President pledged, on behalf of Kenya,  $1 million (about Sh92 million) towards the establishment of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights.

The financial contribution towards establishment of the court is in line with Kenya’s push for and support of the Malabo Protocol, which essentially seeks to establish an alternative court to the ICC.

Touching on Kenya’s internal progress to peace after the 2007/08 post-poll chaos, the President said the path to reconciliation was accompanied by concrete efforts at providing relief, resettlement and reintegration to the victims.